Titanium-based alloys offer a combination of properties up to moderately elevated temperatures including strength, toughness, low density, and corrosion resistance. Titanium-based alloys consequently have been extensively used in aerospace applications as a weight-saving replacement for iron and nickel-based alloys in components that operate at low to moderately elevated temperatures.
The assignee of the present application has been extensively involved in efforts to improve the properties of titanium-based alloys to broaden the scope of applications where these alloys can be utilized. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,115 to Abkowitz et al. discloses a microcomposite material in which TiC is incorporated in a titanium-based alloy matrix as a reinforcement or stiffening material by adding TiC powder to powder having a composition disposed to form a titanium-based alloy matrix. Upon being compacted and sintered at a temperature selected to preclude diffusion of the TiC into the matrix, the composite material exhibits higher hardness, higher modulus, and better wear resistance than the titanium-based alloy matrix material.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,906,430 and 4,968,348 to Abkowitz et al. disclose a microcomposite material in which TiB.sub.2 is incorporated a titanium-based alloy matrix as a reinforcement material. The microcomposite material formed by the addition of TiB.sub.2 has increased strength and modulus in comparison with the microcomposite material formed by the addition of TiC.
During the course of continuing developmental work, the present inventors have discovered a reinforcement or stiffening material for titanium and titanium-based alloys that yields a microcomposite material having improved modulus and elevated temperature tensile strength, while retaining reasonable ductility and with a lower overall density than existing titanium-based alloys.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a titanium-based microcomposite material having improved mechanical properties including modulus, elevated temperature tensile strength, and strength-to-weight ratio.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.